“The mysterious ‘x’ factor in
music - which turns an okay-on-paper act into something
potentially much greater than the sum of its parts - is a rare
and potent glue and, as a growing number of people on the Irish
live music scene will tell you, Disreali Gears have it by the
lorry load...”
Irish News (interview), March 1995
“These guys were brilliant - if you can
immagine the Velvet Underground or even the Stone Roses combined
with Celtic mysticism and honesty, then you are not too far away
from Disreali Gears...”
Queen’s University Belfast, Student Newspaper May
1995
“Disreali Gears integrate keening,
Cream-style harmonics with the bite of Lou Reed and a vogueish,
slamming funk...”
NME, (live review) June 1995
“Paul Archer - a man whose charisma is so
far left of centre it’s off the swingometer...”
Sleevenotes to Alive In Belfast CD compilation, 1995
“Something is happening in Belfast. This
afternoon I’m sharing a coffee with a bunch of musicians in
the centre of town. To my left sits a mohicanned punk named Paul.
Later he’ll explain in fascinating detail how he
incorporates Zen spirituality into the post-industrial sound of
his band, Disreali Gears. And when Paul Archer speaks, everyone
listens...”
The Irish Times (interview), July 1995
“When it comes to words of commendation,
most bands at best mutter something non-committal like
‘they’re alright’ but Disreali Gears seem to have
free-wheeled their way to peer-popularity, with everyone willing
to be enthusiastic, almost to toadying proportions. But then lead
singer Paul Archer is a man with the voice of an angel and the
garb of a Hell’s Angel...”
The Buzz, (interview) Oct. 1995
“Disreali Gears: quite simply one of the
four finest guitar bands in Northern Ireland today...”
That’s Entertainment, (gig preview) Oct. 1995
“Whereas this time last year observers might
have recognised potential in the Gears, performances lately have
shown the band to have become probably the most exciting live act
in town. The group’s stage presence has become a
finely-tuned powerhouse of psychedelic rock, with a full set of
irresistible material filled to the brim with pop hooks and
mesmerising dynamics, topped off with the vaguely mystical values
of Archer’s lyrics and his commanding presence on stage.
Last year’s caterpillar has become a butterfly - and a
brightly coloured one at that...”
The Irish News, (interview) July 1996
“Live At The Belfast Empire captures 18
local live regulars doing what they do best for an appreciative
audience who, even if mainland record companies don’t
realise it, are in the company of something potentially great...
Disreali Gears are represented by the longest track of all,
‘She Waits’, which might not exactly endear them to
those in search of a three minute pop ditty but which shows
remarkable songwriting maturity and musicianship...”
Newtownards Spectator, (CD review), August 1996
“Disreali Gears take an overly indulgent
nine minutes with ‘the underground opus ‘She
Waits’, which is somewhat reminiscent of Spinal Tap’s
free-form jazz experiments...”(!)
Belfast Newsletter, (CD Review), August 1996
“Belfast’s finest psychedelic rock band
did something old Norman Tebbit would have been proud of and
‘got on their bikes’. The student-drenched environs of
the Crescent Arts Centre were awash with psychedelic
‘cyclists’ distributing leaflets and urging potential
punters to bring their own refreshments and come to a novel event
at that very venue... It was a bona-fide, self-financed
‘underground’ happening a la Swinging London in the
‘60s, and it was Disreali Gears being one of the first bands
in town to stop griping about the limited availability of gigs
and actually put one on themselves. It was a huge
success...”
The Irish News, (news report) Sept. 1996
“Right from the start Disreali Gears had a
full-on, epic sound. The singer, with his long mohican and
self-promoting T-shirt, oozes character as he bends, gyrates,
pogos, kicks. Give him a bigger stage and he’d be
dangerous... A balance of retro and innovation that makes you
want to shake your thang.”
Hot Press, (live review) October 1996
“Anyone who has ever seen Paul Archer on
stage with Disreali Gears will agree that they are a force to be
reckoned with. They intermingle their influences, from Cream to
the Velvet Underground, with slamming rock-funk that has a real
‘90s feel...”
Belfast Telegraph, (gig preview) October 1996